“I’ve always been an entrepreneur. Always wanted to work for myself.”
I sat down with Bill Kracht at O’Leary’s Tavern on a hot Wednesday afternoon, a glass of white wine in hand, ready to get his story. I expected to hear about a well-liked local business owner. What I didn’t expect was just how many businesses he’s built over the decades — or how much bigger his impact on this community turned out to be than I’d realized walking in.
A Kid Who Never Unpacked
Born on an Army base in Fort Bragg, Kracht moved constantly as a kid before his father’s tours in Vietnam finally anchored the family in Fayetteville long enough to finish high school. The family later landed in San Diego, where Kracht married young and worked his way up at a Longs Drug Store before a sales job eventually brought him to Ventura County in 1985.
The Floor Man Who Became CEO
In 1986, Kracht took a part-time job as a floor man at the Players Card Club in Ventura, despite no gaming background beyond playing poker himself. What followed was a decade-plus regulatory fight to keep the club’s license alive, culminating in his consolidating the small licenses of the Elks, the Moose, and the American Legion into one combined casino — delivering the city over a million dollars in its first year. Kracht became CEO in the mid-1990s and ran it for roughly three decades. “I love the idea of creating something that nobody else did,” he says.
O’Leary’s and The Shores
By 2015, Kracht bought O’Leary’s Tavern — a bar with a storied past as a haunt for judges and police officers. He kept the wood, the old photos, and the sayings on the walls while giving the place a sportier, more welcoming feel. Today it stays open until 2 a.m. seven nights a week.
The Shores in Oxnard came with more of a challenge: Kracht bought the beloved but aging restaurant from longtime owner Judy in 2017, closed it for nine months, and pivoted his initial upscale concept into an elevated sports bar instead — a call that’s paid off. The Shores now runs live music weekends and packed football Sundays, with an expansion next door in the works.
People First
Kracht’s philosophy stays consistent across every business: “I’ve always lived my life to respect other people.” That ethic extends to community work — he sits on the honorary board of the Boys & Girls Club and serves as vice chair of Caregivers, a nonprofit supporting Ventura County seniors.
Still Not Retiring
At 71, most people are winding down. Bill Kracht is still building. “I’m not gonna do it, and I can’t,” he says of retirement — the same restlessness that’s kept him showing up for this community for four decades, always looking for the next way to give back.
